Lowering earnings expectations for Ansell

Weaker than expected 3Q earnings from a handful of US industrial companies and softening economic data on the back of falling commodity prices and stagnant global demand, suggest the industrial economy is losing momentum. ANN has flagged lower than expected Q1 sales, a US economy not traveling as well as it thought it would and ongoing FX volatility at its recent AGM. We lower our FY16-18 earnings expectations by up to c7.5% to reflect the challenging global backdrop. Maintain Hold rating, with shares trading in line with historic multiples. report attached